Page 97 of Hard To Love

Chapter Thirty-Four

Iwalkedout into the cool December night with my hands in the pockets of my little black pea coat regretting I hadn’t worn pants. Chase pulled up in his BMW and I hopped in. My fingers punched at the controls trying to get the fan in the car to full blast.

“What the heck took you so long?” I asked through chattering teeth.

He rolled eyes. “You do know this is Manhattan, right?” His tone was filled with sarcasm. “Plus, I told you that we needed to leave earlier to avoid traffic but you insisted on taking an extra twenty minutes to pick out an outfit.”

“Well, excuse me for trying to look nice for your family tonight.” I hissed, rubbing my hands together to make them warm up quicker.

“Sweetheart, you don’t need to impress them. You’re gorgeous. Besides, they already know what you look like.”

I scolded him. “Spoken like a man. Plus, I wanted to take a look around the apartment considering we’re going to be gone for two weeks. I wanted to make sure we didn’t forget anything.”

He patted my hand while staying focused on the road. “Relax. They have stores in Florida, if we forget anything.”

I treated him to a big, old eye roll. “You are such a man.”

“Thank god.” He snorted.

We arrived at his father’s house about an hour later than we planned given the crazy holiday traffic. The mood in his home was festive and carefree, especially now that the cloud of a felony drug arrest no longer hung over their heads. And even more importantly, the fiasco with Megan seemed to be the ‘kick in the ass’ that Colin needed to get his shit together.

Chase had made the decision to sign over his share of the club. It was time to let him figure things out on his own. He seemed to be headed in the right direction, and had pretty much recommitted to his marriage with Elizabeth. My relationship with Colin had also improved. I was starting to see the good side that Chase had always known was there.

After dinner, the guys went into the living room and left Elizabeth and I in the kitchen to clean up. Just as I finished wiping down the stove she leaned into the counter and crossed her arms.

“You survived your first Newman family dinner. How does it feel?”

I laughed, “It actually wasn’t so bad. Although, I think I need to step up my Scrabble game.”

She snickered. “Those Ivy-leaguers are such show offs.”

“I actually feel bad that you’ve had to put up with them all by yourself all these years.”

“ Ahh… I see Chase told you that we grew up together?”

I neatly folded the towel then placed it on the counter. “He did,” I confirmed while pouring us both a glass of water then made my way over to where she was standing.

“He’s such a good guy, I’m happy to see that he’s finally found someone so deserving of him.” She smiled taking the glass from my hands.

My heart swelled from her words. Having her approval meant more to me than I realized. I could see why Chase was so protective of her.

“Thank you, Elizabeth. That means a lot to me, especially coming from you. Chase thinks the world of you.”

She took a place on a stool at the kitchen island. Her elbows rested on the table.

“I know about Megan.”

She said it so casually you would have thought she was referring to the weather.

My eyes darted to hers. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I was not expecting that at all.

She shook her head and held up her hand, leaving me no choice but to allow her to continue. “Colin has been in a really dark place the past few years. He’s always lived in his brother’s shadow. Chase was always the smarter, more responsible, lower maintenance Newman boy.”

A un-ladylike snort flew out of me. “Lower maintenance? Chase? Are you sure we’re talking about the same person?”

She chuckled softly, “Perhaps you know a different side to him, but Colin always looked up to him. He never felt like he could ever measure up. I tried so many times to make him see that no one else felt that way. If I were to guess, I would say that his acting out was his way of justifying his actions.”

She just nailed it. She appeared to be every bit as smart as I thought she was. I stood there silently, as she continued. “We have been through so much together. I love him too much to see him constantly struggling. He was on a very dangerous, destructive path and I knew that he needed to hit rock bottom in order for anything to change. I take my wedding vows very seriously. You know, for better or worse. In my heart, I always knew that somewhere deep down in that dark soul of his was the man that I married. I pledged to stand by him and stick it out. Always hoping and praying that he would change his ways and come back to me. Once I found out I was pregnant, it wasn’t just me anymore.”

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